What Are You Geeky About?

Gilbert Garfinkle, the hero of my latest novel, Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one), is the ultimate geek. He has vintage Star Wars sheets on his bed, and posters of dragons, sci-fi movies, and Albert Einstein on the walls of his tiny room in the basement. He takes apart video game systems because he so desperately wants to see what he can do to improve them.

Character sketch of super geek Gilbert Garfinkle, the hero of Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one) by Shevi Arnold

Some people see being a geek as a bad thing, but I don’t, and neither does Gilbert.

In one scene he explains to Amber--the gorgeous, mixed-up vampire who wants to turn him into her platonic BFF literally forever--what it means to be a geek: ““Geeks are awesome. If other people can’t see that, it’s their problem. The very definition of being a geek is that you love something just because you love it, not because someone is telling you you should, but in spite of them telling you you shouldn’t. There’s no greater love than geek love. If you’re lucky, maybe someday you’ll find it too.”

I’ve always been super geeky about comedy, fantasy, and science fiction.

When I was little, I'd take them apart and analyze them, kind of like what Gilbert Garfinkle does with video game systems. If I didn’t like what I found, I would try to fix it. And sometimes I would take parts of a story and use them to create something new. This continued into my college years, when I majored in English Literature and Theater Studies. Actually, it continued through my time as an editorial cartoonist, illustrator, editor, consumer columnist, and arts-and-entertainment writer specializing in children's entertainment and, of course, comedy--and it continues to this day.

Nothing makes me as happy as tinkering with a funny, fantastic, incredible story.

So I ask you, “What are you geeky about?”

What is it that makes you so happy you don’t care what anyone else thinks?

Maybe you’ve found it, and maybe you’re not as ready to tell the world as I am and Gilbert is. Maybe you’re still afraid of what others might think. Well, don’t be. Others only judge because they don’t feel the joy that being truly geeky about something brings. Don’t let them steal that joy from you.

I’m geeky about writing stories that make people laugh, cry, and think, and that transport them to worlds only reachable through the imagination. I’m geeky about books. I’m geeky about Gilbert, and Why My Love Life Sucks. And I’m geeky about my fellow geeks who love books just as much as I do.

What are you geeky about? What do you love so much that you don’t care what anyone else thinks?

Daily Geek Quotient (or GQ)

Shevi’s Geek Q for today: 90 (Low) 

Where has all my geek joy gone for today? At least I saw this week's Once Upon a Time, and I really enjoyed it. What a surprising story for Beauty and the Beast. And the ending was so sad. 

Daily Geek Quotient (or GQ)

Shevi’s Geek Q for today: 115 (only average)

I did almost no geek things today. 

I hope this makes up for it.

In honor of conductor John Williams's 80th birthday

I present one of the most awesome YouTube videos ever.

Guest Post: The What, How, Where, and Why of Book Trailers

Today's post is by Greg R. Fishbone, who is generating buzz about his new Galaxy Games series with an exciting blog tour.

Enjoy!



Making the Book Trailer

by Greg R. Fishbone







Thanks to Shevi for having me on her site and for asking me to talk about book trailers, what they are for, how they are made, and why an author might want one. I'll also talk about the process I went through to make my video for Galaxy Games: The Challengers--which is here for your viewing pleasure:

I'm sure everyone is already familiar with movie trailers. They're what book trailers would look like if authors and publishers could afford A-list actors, CGI effects, a film editing suite, that one guy who does all the movie trailer voice overs, and the broadcast rights to "Far and Away" by Enya. Lacking the budget for those things, authors can still represent the visual and auditory "look and feel" of a book in a two-minute blast that will help readers understand that oh my god this is going to be the bestest book ever and I'm going to want to order it now, now, now!


Why represent a work of text and imagination in a format that might combine images, video, music, and the spoken voice? Because, like it or not, we live in the video era of an increasingly video world. Video rules the web, and even the most avid readers are more likely to click on your book trailer link than on a PDF excerpt of Chapter One--although, hopefully, your book trailer will create curiosity and demand for more information. Once a book trailer is made and uploaded, you can embed it on your book site, author site, Facebook page, and anywhere else you want. If you do a signing event or school visit, the book trailer can be an effective and attention-grabbing opening act.


The first step in creating your trailer is to assess your technology, resources, and applicable skills. You might have a video camera, a laptop, some family members who can act out a cheesy skit, and a friend who knows something about film editing. You can search Google for royalty-free music, inexpensive editing software, public domain images, and tutorials on video creation.


I did my first book trailer in 2007 for The Penguins of Doom, using screen captures of my own doodles on PowerPoint slides, so whatever you come up with is bound to be so much better than that! For The Challengers, I was lucky enough to have awesome interior art from my publisher and use of a slideshow editor that included music and animated transitions.


The next step is to write a script that works within your resource constraints to entertain and inform your audience. Keep the five W's and H of journalism in mind: Who is the main character? What is the story about? When and where will the book be available? And how can the reader find out even more information?

Feel free to raise some important questions that you don't answer, because your trailer should function as a teaser for the book without giving away too much of what will happen. The script should capture the feel of your book, as much as possible, including suggestions for the kinds of images and music you will want to include. For my book about sports and science fiction, I wanted far-out graphics and music that sounded like a sports broadcast.


Don't start filming until you have a script and an accurate inventory of the resources available for you to make the video. If you've done your planning right, the actual making of the video will be the quick and easy part.


Then comes the editing. If you're including text, is the font readable? If you're doing a voice-over narration, is it loud and clear enough? If you're using images, are they the best and most appropriate ones available to you? Is there some important bit of information you might have inadvertently left out, or can you tighten the video to improve the pacing? As a writer, you should know all about revision already--put those skills to good use!


The final step is to upload your video and send the link everywhere you can.

Congratulations! Now you can add film producer and director to your resume, next to where it says published author.

I had a lot of fun making my book trailer, and I think it works as an effective introduction to the Galaxy Games universe, but I would love to hear your opinions and suggestions in the comments section to this post.


Thanks for watching!



Greg R. Fishbone, Author - gfishbone.com - Twitter @tem2

The Challengers - Book #1 in the Galaxy Games Series

Puzzle Piece #16 of 31:

Follow the Galaxy Games Blog Tour, all October long!